Fear escalates in Europe over terror threat

November 15, 2002|By Peter Finn, The Washington Post.

BERLIN — Normally circumspect European intelligence and law-enforcement officials have issued a wave of stark warnings in the last two weeks in an echo of U.S. fears that another terrorist attack may be on the way, including the possibility that Al Qaeda could use chemical or other weapons of mass destruction against European targets.

The statements--by officials in Britain, Germany and France, as well as by the head of Interpol, the international law-enforcement agency--represent a breadth of concern that the continent has not experienced since immediately after the attacks in New York and at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, that killed more than 3,000 people and galvanized international efforts to combat terrorism.

"There is very real concern," a German official said Thursday.

The United States has issued numerous threat assessments since the attacks, a policy that was quietly questioned in Europe because officials believed the information was too vague to warrant alarming the public. But the frank tone in Europe in recent days indicates that sufficient intelligence signals a mounting threat.

"The threat is higher today than yesterday and will be higher again tomorrow," Jean-Louis Bruguiere, France's leading anti-terrorism judge, said Thursday in a radio interview.

One German official said intelligence and law-enforcement agencies seem willing to buck their political superiors to get that message out. The starkest warning was issued by Hans-Josef Beth, head of Germany's international counterterrorism unit. He said in Berlin last week that Abu Musaab Zarqawi, a leader in Al Qaeda trained in the use of toxins, could be planning an attack in Europe.